Ode to oil and vinegar

I gotta thing for vinegars.

And oils. All kinds of oils and vinegars. In fact, they have their own shelf in my kitchen cupboards.

A salad ain't a salad until oil and vinegar come to the party. A basic green salad with a good quality dressing will find its way onto most of my dinner party menus. The French know a thing or to about how to make a simple salad. They would never send an undressed lettuce leaf to the table. Each leaf will be coated and glistening with its oily dressing.

Walnut and hazelnut oils are intensely flavoured - guests notice when you've used one of these oils in a dressing.  They work really well drizzled over steamed green beans too. Whatever oil or vinegar you use, in a salad dressing the standard ratio between the two is three parts oil to one part vinegar.  Well, I think it is. As a child I used to eat celery from bowls of vinegar so my ratio is skewed towards vinegar.

To raise it to the next level though, take another tip from the French. Cut a clove of garlic in half, and rub the insides of your serving bowl with it. A hint of garlic makes a big difference to salad dressing. Then add the oil and vinegar straight into the bowl and whisk well before adding the lettuce leaves. If you have some fresh dill or basil leaves, add them too. A generous sprinkling of salt flakes completes your salad.

I learnt many things from my brief stint as an apprentice cook many years ago. (1) Split shifts constitute cruel and unusual punishment. (2) $11 an hour is no sort of wage for a 30 year old. (3) It's easier to just get a man to shuck an oyster than try to do it yourself. And (4) How to toss a salad. This is a good insider tip. Dressed leaves get weighed down by the dressing and can make your salad look a little flat. Fluff them up again by 'digging' into the bowl with both hands, scooping up the leaves and then flipping them over for however many times it takes to get them looking light and full of air again.